That Union Thing

Fast food workers across the country are protesting low pay and asking for raises to $15 per hour.

Strikes have been conducted in New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Milwaukee, Kansas City (MO), and Flint (MI). Workers are also seeking a right to form unions without retaliation. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour, and many full-time fast food employees are only earning on average $15,080 per year, far below what is necessary for survival, according to advocacy group Fast Food Forward.

For the first time in years, all seats on the National Labor Relations Board are filled. Under threat of a "nuclear option," the Senate has confirmed the appointment of AFL-CIO attorney Nancy Schiffer and NLRB Counsel Kent Hirozawa to the NLRB. They will join current chairman Mark Pearce and Los Angeles attorney Harry Johnson and Chicago attorney Philip Miscimarra.